The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter, was supporting a training operation at the Pacific Missile Range facility on the island of Kauai, and was operated by Croman Corporation, an Oregon-based contractor, the agency informed in a statement.
The deceased were all Croman employees, confirmed Brian Beattie, the company’s chief operating officer. The aircraft was “conducting routine training operations under contract with the US Navy,” he explained.
The military conducts missile testing and training at the base on the west coast of Kauai, the northernmost of the main Hawaiian Islands.
According to a Utah National Guard Report, the Kauai crash joined other military-related helicopter crashes that occurred Tuesday morning, after in Utah, two UH-60 Blackhawk aircraft crashed near the Snowbird Resort during a training exercise.
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